A Design-Forward Weekend in Waikiki

Long known for its mega-hotels and commercial vibe, Waikiki is not where you go to be cool in Hawaii. Stylish vacationers have traditionally sidestepped the touristy beaches at the center of Honolulu, flocking instead to the jaw-dropping beauty of untouched Kauai. But we can’t help being nostalgic for the glory days of the Hawaiian capital, in all its mini-umbrella, lei-bearing splendor—and the newly opened Surfjack hotel seems to share that sentiment, bringing the city’s retro-tropical vibe back with a modern twist. So pack up that yellow hard-sided suitcase your mother bought in the ‘60s—you’ve been saving it for this weekend, after all—and hop a flight from San Francisco or Los Angeles to Honolulu. (East Coasters will have a slightly longer commute on the red eye.) It’s the Hawaii we’ve always dreamed of visiting, just the second time around. Mahalo.

The Surfjack’s retro lobby.

Photo: Courtesy of the Surfjack

STAY

Pack your trunks or highest-waisted bikini and check into the Surfjack, a boutique hotel with 112 rooms and a midcentury vibe that will make you wish you were traveling with Don Draper. Hawaiian power design studio the Vanguard Theory was behind the high-style project, which includes a Swim Club, a restaurant, and a shop where you can acquire just the right sun hat or an artisanal scent to take a little aloha home. From $277/night.

DRINK

After hours of surfing (or magazine-reading), post up with a cocktail at Sky Waikiki, a retreat in the clouds 19 floors up where the drinks are named after Oahu’s legendary beaches. Stay long enough and you can take in the sunset as the lounge turns into a thumping nightclub.

The expertly appointed interiors of Azure, a Waikiki classic located at the Royal Hawaiian, the district’s iconic flamingo-pink hotel.

Photo: Courtesy of Azure

EAT

Sometimes there’s nothing like the real thing. For a romantic dinner—or a feast of fresh seafood—step into a piece of Waikiki’s past at Azure, located on the beach beneath the Royal Hawaiian’s flamingo-pink Spanish-Moorish façade. The restaurant has long been an award-winning landmark on the culinary scene in Hawaii’s capital. And perhaps you need a private cabana (which you may reserve) in order to fully enjoy this experience. We know we would.

For a hip interpretation of island cuisine in 2016, Ed Kenney is your man; and his restaurant Mahina & Sun’s at the Surfjack is where to taste the tidal wave of gastronomic momentum happening in Hawaii today. Bring a group to justify ordering Mahina’s Family Feast, a mochiko-fried deep-sea snapper served with oysters, roasted roots, pohole salad, buttered ’ulu (breadfruit), house pickles, hapa rice . . . need we say more? Oh yes, and salted macadamia nut pavlova with liliko’i (passionfruit) and cream. That’s how you eat at home, right?

DO

It wouldn’t be a trip to Hawaii if you did not at least pretend to prowl the waves like a pro. So sign up for lessons with Clips Hawaii, a stylish surf shop that offers both fashionable gear and the necessary amount of hand holding. With one instructor to no more than three or four students, you'll be hanging ten in no time.

If surfing isn’t your thing, keep your feet on dry land and check out Pow!Wow! Hawaii, the global art initiative that has made Oahu its home for 2016. The festival, which includes gallery shows, lectures, concerts, and classes, is a cocktail of international creativity and authentic local flavor. The waves aren’t going anywhere, after all.

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